Unique Low

Impact Expeditions Since 1999

Khao
Sok: The Rare Animal Show

Just when I thought I'd seen it all at
Khao Sok, I get another major surprise.

At sunrise of the morning of June 19th, we
were watching a group of wild pigs foraging along the
shoreline of Khao Sok. We were still close to the floating
bungalows. Joining me was Jon Bennett, a repeat
guest/friend. Jon teaches computer science at a high school
in Tokyo. He had a powerful Canon digital camera with a 300
mm zoom lens. These photos on this page were taken by
Jon.

He took some photos of the wild pigs, then
we journeyed further. A Crested Goshawk
stood proud in a barren tree. We marveled at its beauty,
then carried on. Sitting in the back of a cove, something
caught my eye. It was black, big and very hairy. I looked
through my binoculars and was shocked by what I saw. There
was a huge Asiatic Black Bear high up in a
tree! Scanning, I saw a cub. They were eating big blue-ish
berries. Scanning up, I saw another cub. The adult, most
likely a female, was massive. Conservatively, I'd say she
was at least a hundred pounds.

Unfortunately,
this is the bear of choice for the exceedingly
merciless Asian medicine trade. Heartless poachers have
decimated the population of these magnificent beings. I was
torn as to whether or not I should let anyone know that we
saw these animals in Khao Sok. I didn't tell anyone in the
park. But I decided that anyone who subscribes to this
newsletter is not going to be the type of person who would
harm such an animal.

Tourism is an agent of protection for
bears and other endangered animals. The tourism dollars keep
the national park going and pay the wages of the staff that
protect the area. Yes, these park rangers are serious about
protecting their future by protecting the inhabitants of the
jungle. We talk at length with them about this, but they are
already clued into the necessity for a safe haven for what’s
left in the Kingdom. Still, we never say exactly where we
see the rare things we see.

Earlier in this trip, we saw plenty of
other attention-grabbing animals. Late on the first
afternoon, we saw a pair of Banded Woodpeckers
on one side of a cove. On the other side, a very rare Grey-headed
Fish-Eagle patrolled his turf. Khao Sok is one of
the last strongholds for this endangered bird of prey. It
would truly be a loss to never see one of these beautiful
birds perched in wait for a fish. Its call is easy to
recognize, it gives me a warm feeling every time I hear it.

Monkeys

Monkeys are common in Khao Sok National Park.
None are more plentiful than the comical Dusky Langur. They
are mostly black, but they have white eye rings and a white
ring around their mouths as well. Their long white tails
often expose their position.

Another common name for Dusky
Langurs is Leaf Monkey. That’s because they eat
leaves constantly. Munching on leaves, they repeatedly miss
the fact that they are being watched. We can slip up on
eating Langurs without them knowing. Once they spot us
however, they usually flee.

Their favored mode of escape is leaping.
You wouldn’t believe how far these guys can leap. They
regularly take death-defying jumps from one tree to the
next. Most of the courses are downward, but believe me, they
can do some pretty lengthy horizontal jumps as well.

Monkeys do die falling from trees. And as
such, they appear to use arboreal trails much the way we use
ground trails. The time-tested branches are favored as the
troop moves across the jungle canopy. If you see one monkey
leap from a certain branch to a certain branch, stay
focused, as the next monkey will, in all likelihood, use the
same trail.

Another
monkey we saw in abundance was the Long-tailed
Macaque. They live in big groups called “troops.” There will
be one alpha male in charge of the troop. We frequently hear
scuffles as smaller males take their crack at the top job.

These are very adaptable monkeys. They
figure out how to get food from a variety of different
situations. These are the most common type of monkey in the
temples of Thailand. They’ve figured out the free meal
ticket here. They have also adapted to island living. You
can see them combing beaches at low tide in search of
whatever might provide a bit of nourishment. They are
commonly called Crab-eating Macaques when in this setting.

If you want to take photos of monkeys,
macaques are quite obliging. They don’t scare easily and
they come all the way down to the water. Dusky Langurs only
come down close to the water’s edge when their favorite
veggies are there in abundance. They are very skittish when
they do venture to this region.

Hornbills and Kingfishers

Believe it or not, the Great
Hornbill is the most regularly seen bird in Khao
Sok. These massive jumbo jets of the tropical airways of the
park are so large that they make a whooshing sound when
flying. When gliding, you can still hear the air as it
courses across its two-meter wingspan.

We saw Great Hornbills every day and at
all times of the day. The wacky Helmeted Hornbill was
vocal throughout the day as well. The excitable yelping call
of the smaller Bushy-crested Hornbills
cropped up from time to time. Luckily for us bird watchers,
they often make their ruckus just before taking wing. That
gives you time to get your binoculars ready as you turn your
kayak around in anticipation.

Oriental Pied Hornbills don’t make quite
as much noise, but they can certainly hold their own when it
comes to volume. They too often make a bunch of noise just
before taking flight. Isn’t that considerate.

The
Blue-eared Kingfisher is becoming more and more
common in Khao Sok. This lovely brilliant blue bird gives a
sort of police whistle when in flight. To the trained ear
(mine), this is a sign that it’s time to look around. It
usually perches close to the water, as its prey is the
smaller fish and glass shrimp that inhabit the
shallows.Stork-billed Kingfisher

The Stork-billed Kingfisher is the most
common large kingfisher in Khao Sok. We came across two of
them while hiking to a cave. They were perched near a small
stream. This stream is normally well underwater, but
southern Thailand is suffering from a second year of low
rainfall.

The reservoir is used for hydroelectric
power as well as water. Even though it’s lower than I’ve
seen it in over ten years, the Electrical Generating
Authority of Thailand releases water on a schedule. This
exposes a lot more land and provides more shoreline, making
the likelihood of seeing herbivorous animals more likely.
The shore is lush with grasses, including a lot of bamboo,
and a good amount of banana trees. Spiderhunters, small
nectivores, flitter about, sticking their long bills into
the banana flowers. A variety of spiderhunters exist with
various lengths bills to suit the various lengths of banana
flowers.

The
King of the jungle

On a recent trip, the sighting of a
colossal King Cobra pleasured us. I
rounded a corner and headed down the left bank of a cove.
Suddenly, I saw a tail sneak up the bare part of the bank
and disappear into the meter-high grass. The grass very high
up the bank was moving too… hmmm? I called everyone over.
There was a gap in the foliage where we witnessed this
organic freight train roll by. It kept going and going. When
will we see the caboose? Out of the blue, a head pop up
above it all. My God! This was a King Cobra. Its head must
have been at least a meter and a half off of the ground. It
just stared at us. At this point, I remember thinking, “I am
soooo glad that we’re in kayaks and not walking right now!”
If we’d have been on foot, I would have suggested trotting
rapidly in the other direction. After all, this is the true
king of the jungle. Nothing can win a fight against a
full-grown King Cobra. Only a man with a tool can overcome
this truly noble work of Nature. It packs enough venom to
kill an elephant. Skink

It just stared
at us, lapping up our chemical signals from time
to time. The scales above its eyes appeared to presented a
downward slope, making it look evil. What an incredible
sight. Even if you are deathly afraid of snakes, you’ve got
to appreciate the vocation and beauty of this ruler of all
he could bite.

If seeing a wide variety of animals, from
huge to small, Khao Sok is the place. From the comfort of a
kayak, you'll be able to sneak up on monkeys and birds. you
never know what you'll encounter. So come on over and give
kayaking a try. It's suitable for all ages. You're never too
old to start kayaking. It's easy.